Stanislaw Wadolowski
Stanisław Wądołowski | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 November 1909 Rzędziany, Poland |
| Died | 14 February 1996 (aged 86) Łódź, Poland |
| Citizenship | Poland |
| Occupations | Military pilot; surveyor |
| Organization | Union of Armed Struggle (ZWZ) |
| Known for | Polish resistance member and concentration camp survivor |
Stanisław Wądołowski (16 November 1909 – 14 February 1996) was a Polish resistance member, former Polish Army pilot, and survivor of the Nazi concentration camp system. During the Second World War he was imprisoned in Sachsenhausen concentration camp as a political prisoner with the prisoner number 28111. He was later among the prisoners transferred to the early camp at Gross-Rosen concentration camp when it functioned as a subcamp of Sachsenhausen.[1][2]
Early life
Wądołowski was born on 16 November 1909 in the village of Rzędziany in Poland.[3] Before the outbreak of the Second World War he served as a pilot in the Polish Air Force.[1]
Second World War
After the German invasion of Poland in 1939, Wądołowski joined the Polish underground resistance. In November 1939 he became a member of the Union of Armed Struggle (Związek Walki Zbrojnej), the main Polish resistance organization that later formed the core of the Home Army.[1]
He was arrested by the Gestapo on 12 June 1940. After interrogation and torture he was deported to Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where he was registered as a political prisoner with the number 28111.[1]
On 2 August 1940 Wądołowski was among the prisoners transferred from Sachsenhausen to the camp at Gross-Rosen concentration camp. This transport formed the first group of prisoners assigned to build and operate the quarry-based camp complex.[2][4][5]
He survived imprisonment in the Nazi camp system until the end of the war in 1945.[6]
Postwar life
After the war Wądołowski settled in Łódź, where he worked as a surveyor in the provincial administration.[1] He later participated in the documentation of Nazi crimes and served on commissions investigating German occupation crimes. In the 1960s he travelled to Germany to testify in war-crimes trials against former camp personnel.[1]
Despite suffering from long-term health consequences of imprisonment, he remained active in remembrance work and spoke publicly about his experiences in the concentration camps.
Wądołowski died in Łódź on 14 February 1996.[1]
Legacy
His testimony has been cited in accounts of the early history of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp and the first transport of prisoners from Sachsenhausen.[2][4][5]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "DS009 Stanislaw Wadolowski 28111". Sachsenhausen Stuff. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
- ^ a b c "Pierwszy transport do Gross-Rosen". Institute of National Remembrance. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
- ^ "Zeznania Polaków represjonowanych podczas II Wojny Światowej. Tom 4". Szukaj w Archiwach. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
- ^ a b "72. rocznica przybycia pierwszego transportu do obozu Gross-Rosen". Gross-Rosen Museum. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
- ^ a b Dorota Sula. "Walka do południa, do wieczora…" (PDF). Retrieved 16 March 2026.
- ^ "2 sierpnia 1940 r. do niemieckiego obozu koncentracyjnego Gross-Rosen przywieziono pierwszych więźniów". Dzieje.pl. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
External links
- "DS009 Stanislaw Wadolowski 28111". Sachsenhausen Stuff.